Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Overwhelming
This might be kind of a sappy post, but I need to get some of what is in my head out into the world. I have been thinking a lot about how overwhelming motherhood can be. Of course there is just the day to day, "How on Earth will I get everything done that I need to?" feeling. But I have been thinking more about the overwhelming feelings that come with motherhood. The absolutely complete love that I have for Eloise, and that she loves me so completely in return. That from day one, loving each other came so naturally. At 6 o'clock tonight, Eloise had a bath to wash off her snack of strawberries and the sunscreen that was all over her. I put on a diaper, and a onesie for pajamas, and we grabbed her pig (which she very lovingly calls "baby".) She asked me to "nurse please" and said "night night" knowing that she was tired, and it was time for bed. I held her close as she ate, and remembered that first day she was born. How she rooted so sweetly. She knew what she needed from me, and trusted me so entirely. My sweet little baby had no idea that I was so new at this. That I was scared of not doing everything right. She trusted and loved me, and felt safe in my arms. Looking down at her drifting off while nursing tonight, (very much bigger than a newborn), I thought of how much we loved each other, and how we have gotten to know each other so well. We have both grown so much. I don't even have to think about the things I do as a mother anymore. I know her favorite toys, games, and books. I know her different cries, and when she needs me to hold her, and when she needs to sort things out for herself. I just love being a mother. I love Eloise and her very distinct personality. I love that she loves me, and trusts me. It is truly overwhelming, in the very best sense.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Eloise Update
So, it turns out I am pretty terrible at this blogging thing, but Eloise is growing up so fast! I need to document some of the things she is up to. (If you want to skip the text, there are pictures at the end.)
She turned 1 last month (April 2nd.) She is still not walking, but getting so close. Just this week she has started standing on her own regularly without freaking out. We will say, "Stand up!" and she does, all proud of herself. She occasionally will take a step or two before decidedly plopping down on her bottom. A couple days ago she even took 6 steps! She is not seeming to be aware that it is a good way to move around, however. She still cruises around on the furniture as much as possible, and if there is no furniture option, she will crawl. Sometimes she will get the ottoman from my glider, or a speaker we have, or a little play table of hers and push it around the room. She just doesn't realize that she could be doing it on her own. In fact, when I try and get her to walk just holding on to one of my hands, she has a meltdown, and just drops to the floor. Silly baby.
Here are some other things she is up to:
-She is talking more and more. She says "Pwee" for "please," accompanied by pulling a hand across her chest to do the sign for it. She also knows the sign for "more," and will use it when she wants anything. She says "Nuh nuh" when she wants to nurse, or eat anything, really. Her favorite word is "baby" and will say it instead of a lot of other things that she knows how to say (like puppy, or kitty, or Daddy, sometimes.) But if she actually sees a baby, she gets very excited and points and says, "Baby!"
-She loves Craisins. If I even say "Craisins" out loud, she starts making the sign for "more."
-When we give her anything to eat now, she says, "Mmmm."
-She loves her books. For a while she really didn't care about reading them, and just liked turning the pages, but now she will bring me the one she wants, and if I don't start reading right away, she gets impatient. She loves Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and will say the "Boom Boom" with me sometimes. She also likes Pat The Bunny and one called Feely Bugs.
-She loves peekaboo, and will hide behind her hands if nothing else is around. When she peeks out suddenly, and I say "There she is!" or "Peekaboo!" she gets this adorable toothy grin, and goes back to do it again.
-She loves music. When any type of music starts playing, she starts dancing. She moves side to side, and tucks her arms behind her back or waves them around. She like "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and will have me sing it with the actions FOREVER. She tries to do them with me sometimes, which is so cute. She likes the "Five Little Ducks Went Out One Day" song, and we'll sing it in the bathtub with her rubber ducks. The thing is, if you say, "Do you want to sing a song" She will start singing "Baby" by Justin Bieber. And dancing.
-She has been on a predictable sleeping schedule, which is amazing. Enough that I can put her down awake, and she knows it's nap time, and sleeps for a couple hours. She will only cry for maybe 15 minutes before being completely asleep.
-She loves her stuffed animals, especially her pig. She hugs it, and kisses it, and naps with it. Soooo cute.
-She loves her aunts and uncles and grandparents. I think she is starting to realize just how much everybody pays attention to her, and is feeling quite spoiled with the love. She loves playing with them.
I'm sure there is more, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head. Here are some pictures I took the other day. :)
So, I got in the shower on Tuesday, and Eloise likes to sit right next to the shower and peek in at me. So when I was done, I ran into my room to get dressed and left her in the bathroom for a minute. This is what I came back to.
Thanks for reading. :)
She turned 1 last month (April 2nd.) She is still not walking, but getting so close. Just this week she has started standing on her own regularly without freaking out. We will say, "Stand up!" and she does, all proud of herself. She occasionally will take a step or two before decidedly plopping down on her bottom. A couple days ago she even took 6 steps! She is not seeming to be aware that it is a good way to move around, however. She still cruises around on the furniture as much as possible, and if there is no furniture option, she will crawl. Sometimes she will get the ottoman from my glider, or a speaker we have, or a little play table of hers and push it around the room. She just doesn't realize that she could be doing it on her own. In fact, when I try and get her to walk just holding on to one of my hands, she has a meltdown, and just drops to the floor. Silly baby.
Here are some other things she is up to:
-She is talking more and more. She says "Pwee" for "please," accompanied by pulling a hand across her chest to do the sign for it. She also knows the sign for "more," and will use it when she wants anything. She says "Nuh nuh" when she wants to nurse, or eat anything, really. Her favorite word is "baby" and will say it instead of a lot of other things that she knows how to say (like puppy, or kitty, or Daddy, sometimes.) But if she actually sees a baby, she gets very excited and points and says, "Baby!"
-She loves Craisins. If I even say "Craisins" out loud, she starts making the sign for "more."
-When we give her anything to eat now, she says, "Mmmm."
-She loves her books. For a while she really didn't care about reading them, and just liked turning the pages, but now she will bring me the one she wants, and if I don't start reading right away, she gets impatient. She loves Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and will say the "Boom Boom" with me sometimes. She also likes Pat The Bunny and one called Feely Bugs.
-She loves peekaboo, and will hide behind her hands if nothing else is around. When she peeks out suddenly, and I say "There she is!" or "Peekaboo!" she gets this adorable toothy grin, and goes back to do it again.
-She loves music. When any type of music starts playing, she starts dancing. She moves side to side, and tucks her arms behind her back or waves them around. She like "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" and will have me sing it with the actions FOREVER. She tries to do them with me sometimes, which is so cute. She likes the "Five Little Ducks Went Out One Day" song, and we'll sing it in the bathtub with her rubber ducks. The thing is, if you say, "Do you want to sing a song" She will start singing "Baby" by Justin Bieber. And dancing.
-She has been on a predictable sleeping schedule, which is amazing. Enough that I can put her down awake, and she knows it's nap time, and sleeps for a couple hours. She will only cry for maybe 15 minutes before being completely asleep.
-She loves her stuffed animals, especially her pig. She hugs it, and kisses it, and naps with it. Soooo cute.
-She loves her aunts and uncles and grandparents. I think she is starting to realize just how much everybody pays attention to her, and is feeling quite spoiled with the love. She loves playing with them.
I'm sure there is more, but that's all I can think of off the top of my head. Here are some pictures I took the other day. :)
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| Here is one of us on Mother's Day. (Blurry and tired is the best I got) |
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| Playing Peekaboo |
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| Dancing |
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| She likes to crawl back and forth on the couches |
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| blowing a kiss |
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| There is "Please" |
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| There is the ottoman she pushes around |
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| Her favorite part in Pat The Bunny is the book inside the book. She always turns right to it. |
So, I got in the shower on Tuesday, and Eloise likes to sit right next to the shower and peek in at me. So when I was done, I ran into my room to get dressed and left her in the bathroom for a minute. This is what I came back to.
Monday, March 5, 2012
What a Way to Wake Up
This morning Eloise woke up, and Micah brought her into our room to eat. I snuggled her in and nursed her lying down so I could try and get some extra rest. She finished, crawled around for a little bit, and played with my water bottle for a little bit. Then she started asking to eat again, (making the sign for milk.) I started her on the other side, but she was still squirmy. She was kicking her legs and not really relaxing. Then she pulled away... and vomited. So much. Everywhere. And because I was still lying down, it was right into my face. And hair. Eloise immediately relaxed, and just lay down. I grabbed her and we hopped into the shower. She just leaned into me for a few minutes. Then she went back to just playing, though, so it doesn't seem like she is really sick. Probably she just overate? I don't know, but it was very sad for everyone.
Monday, February 27, 2012
Eloise Update
Eloise is growing up so fast! She will be 11 months old this Friday (March 2nd.) It is so strange thinking about this time last year, when I was just so ready to meet her. She just gets cuter every day, and (I know, everyone says this) I can't believe how fast the time has gone! Here are some things about her at this age that I want to remember.
-She says "hi" and "bye" pretty regularly, and mostly at the right times. Sometimes when someone is just standing by a door, she will say one. Or a minute or two after someone has left she will suddenly say "bye!" and wave.
-She says "ball" and really loves playing with them, but also sometimes gets confused and just calls anything she is playing with/wants to play with "ball."
-She loves clapping, and gets really excited when we start singing "If You're Happy and You Know It." She looks at us with a big grin and starts clapping. She also says "bap" for clap, whether she is the one doing it or someone else is. She also like to grab onto our hands and clap them together.
-She also really loves "Pat-a-cake" (with all the clapping) and plays it with my Micah's mom (Nana) all the time.
-She really likes going to basketball games. My brother Linford and my brother in law Eli are both on basketball teams, and we go to the games whenever we can. She gets to say "ball!" and she starts clapping, even when it is not our team scoring. She actually will sit on my lap and watch pretty intently for a while. Then she gets antsy and feels the need to crawl all over the benches.
-I think she could walk if she wanted. She was so excited about moving for so long, and started crawling just before 5 months. She has been pulling herself up on furniture for a few months now. She will stand on her own when she doesn't realize it. She will be holding a toy with one hand, and a chair or something with the other hand. She gets her other hand on the toy, and doesn't realize that she is standing on her own. When she does realize, she gets a really scared look, her legs get shaky, and she slowly collapses. And now I think she has realized that she likes me holding her better than moving on her own anyway.
-She says "Mama" and "Dada," but not very consistently. She mostly says "Mama" when she is sad, and wants to be held. She says "Dada" a lot when she is happy and wants to play with Micah.
-She likes the idea of sharing things, but doesn't like you to take them from her. So if she is eating something, she will put it in her mouth, take it out, and try to put it in my mouth. Same with toys. She will cuddle it, then hold it out for me to pet, or whatever. But if I try to take it, she just holds on harder and pulls it back.
-She loves music of all kinds, and dances by bouncing up and down, and waving her arms. For a while she mostly liked songs with a strong beat, so songs about dancing in clubs were her favorites. I now know all the words to "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz, because it put her to sleep when nothing else would. I have listened to it thousands of times by now. She has a palate more suitable for her age now, though. She dances through all the hymns on Sunday, too.
-She loves her stuffed animals. She cuddles with them, and gives them kisses. So cute! And whenever we go to the grocery store and she sees the stuffed animals there, she gets so excited. She says, "Ooh!" in this intense, high-pitched voice. And if we let her hold one, she hugs it really tight and bounces up and down.
-She loves cats. We have three, and she will crawl after them and get very excited just looking at them. She pets them very nicely most of the time, but sometimes will get excited and be a little rough. She also will say "Kitty" sometimes, but it's more of a breath, like "tehteh."
-She loves other babies and kids. Anytime we are out shopping, if she sees another kid in a cart she says, "Hi! Hi! Hi!" over and over while waving. My cousin Charity has a son Isaac who we play with a couple times a week usually. He is 2 and a half, so there is an age gap, but she loves him. She follows him around, and he gets scared that she will take his toys, haha. They are very cute when they play, though.
-She has just learned how to blow kisses, and breathes in when her hand is to her mouth to to make the kiss sound. I think it is probably the cutest thing she does.
-She loves the bath. Usually I just take a bath with her so that I can get a shower that day. If I try and give her toys on the bathroom floor to play with while I shower, she just comes over to the side of the bath and tries to climb in. She has some rubber ducks as bath toys, and she loves to play with them.
-We have been trying to teach her a couple signs, and so far she has picked the sign for "milk" for when she wants to nurse. She knows it, and will use it when someone else has her if she wants me. (Whether she is hungry or not.) But when I try to get her to use it, usually she just pulls at my shirt.
-(This one I am slightly ashamed of.) She LOVES The Backyardigans. Any time I turn on Netflix, she starts saying "Baba" and bouncing up and down. She especially loves the theme song. She will watch the rest of the episode on and off, but she would be happy to watch the intro on loop.
-She loves turning book pages. Most of the time I don't think she cares if I am reading or not, she just likes turning the pages.
-She loves when go to the park to swing. Every time she starts out really nervous, but after a few pushes, she kicks her legs and smiles the whole time.
-She loves being outside in general. Anytime we go outside, even walking to the car, she gets a really toothy grin, and bounces in my arms.
-She has 8 teeth. 4 on top, 4 on bottom. The 2 more on top were sneaky. I just looked in her mouth last week, and they were there.
I'm sure there is more, but that is what I can think of right now. I planned on posting pictures too, but I just realized my camera is in the car with Micah, so I will make that the next post. Thanks for reading. :)
-She says "hi" and "bye" pretty regularly, and mostly at the right times. Sometimes when someone is just standing by a door, she will say one. Or a minute or two after someone has left she will suddenly say "bye!" and wave.
-She says "ball" and really loves playing with them, but also sometimes gets confused and just calls anything she is playing with/wants to play with "ball."
-She loves clapping, and gets really excited when we start singing "If You're Happy and You Know It." She looks at us with a big grin and starts clapping. She also says "bap" for clap, whether she is the one doing it or someone else is. She also like to grab onto our hands and clap them together.
-She also really loves "Pat-a-cake" (with all the clapping) and plays it with my Micah's mom (Nana) all the time.
-She really likes going to basketball games. My brother Linford and my brother in law Eli are both on basketball teams, and we go to the games whenever we can. She gets to say "ball!" and she starts clapping, even when it is not our team scoring. She actually will sit on my lap and watch pretty intently for a while. Then she gets antsy and feels the need to crawl all over the benches.
-I think she could walk if she wanted. She was so excited about moving for so long, and started crawling just before 5 months. She has been pulling herself up on furniture for a few months now. She will stand on her own when she doesn't realize it. She will be holding a toy with one hand, and a chair or something with the other hand. She gets her other hand on the toy, and doesn't realize that she is standing on her own. When she does realize, she gets a really scared look, her legs get shaky, and she slowly collapses. And now I think she has realized that she likes me holding her better than moving on her own anyway.
-She says "Mama" and "Dada," but not very consistently. She mostly says "Mama" when she is sad, and wants to be held. She says "Dada" a lot when she is happy and wants to play with Micah.
-She likes the idea of sharing things, but doesn't like you to take them from her. So if she is eating something, she will put it in her mouth, take it out, and try to put it in my mouth. Same with toys. She will cuddle it, then hold it out for me to pet, or whatever. But if I try to take it, she just holds on harder and pulls it back.
-She loves music of all kinds, and dances by bouncing up and down, and waving her arms. For a while she mostly liked songs with a strong beat, so songs about dancing in clubs were her favorites. I now know all the words to "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz, because it put her to sleep when nothing else would. I have listened to it thousands of times by now. She has a palate more suitable for her age now, though. She dances through all the hymns on Sunday, too.
-She loves her stuffed animals. She cuddles with them, and gives them kisses. So cute! And whenever we go to the grocery store and she sees the stuffed animals there, she gets so excited. She says, "Ooh!" in this intense, high-pitched voice. And if we let her hold one, she hugs it really tight and bounces up and down.
-She loves cats. We have three, and she will crawl after them and get very excited just looking at them. She pets them very nicely most of the time, but sometimes will get excited and be a little rough. She also will say "Kitty" sometimes, but it's more of a breath, like "tehteh."
-She loves other babies and kids. Anytime we are out shopping, if she sees another kid in a cart she says, "Hi! Hi! Hi!" over and over while waving. My cousin Charity has a son Isaac who we play with a couple times a week usually. He is 2 and a half, so there is an age gap, but she loves him. She follows him around, and he gets scared that she will take his toys, haha. They are very cute when they play, though.
-She has just learned how to blow kisses, and breathes in when her hand is to her mouth to to make the kiss sound. I think it is probably the cutest thing she does.
-She loves the bath. Usually I just take a bath with her so that I can get a shower that day. If I try and give her toys on the bathroom floor to play with while I shower, she just comes over to the side of the bath and tries to climb in. She has some rubber ducks as bath toys, and she loves to play with them.
-We have been trying to teach her a couple signs, and so far she has picked the sign for "milk" for when she wants to nurse. She knows it, and will use it when someone else has her if she wants me. (Whether she is hungry or not.) But when I try to get her to use it, usually she just pulls at my shirt.
-(This one I am slightly ashamed of.) She LOVES The Backyardigans. Any time I turn on Netflix, she starts saying "Baba" and bouncing up and down. She especially loves the theme song. She will watch the rest of the episode on and off, but she would be happy to watch the intro on loop.
-She loves turning book pages. Most of the time I don't think she cares if I am reading or not, she just likes turning the pages.
-She loves when go to the park to swing. Every time she starts out really nervous, but after a few pushes, she kicks her legs and smiles the whole time.
-She loves being outside in general. Anytime we go outside, even walking to the car, she gets a really toothy grin, and bounces in my arms.
-She has 8 teeth. 4 on top, 4 on bottom. The 2 more on top were sneaky. I just looked in her mouth last week, and they were there.
I'm sure there is more, but that is what I can think of right now. I planned on posting pictures too, but I just realized my camera is in the car with Micah, so I will make that the next post. Thanks for reading. :)
Saturday, December 17, 2011
Eloise at Christmastime
Yesterday we went and got our Christmas tree. Hillary, Eli, Diana, Eloise, and I went and picked one out. It was exciting because it is Eloise's first Christmas tree. I know she doesn't know what's going on, but I am getting ridiculously excited being a parent for Christmas. I'm trying to enjoy it, because I know that as we have more kids, it will probably just get more stressful. I can't believe it's only one week until Christmas, though. It came on all of a sudden, somehow. Anyway, enough rambling. It's late enough that these sentences probably aren't making very much sense. I'll post some pictures, since it's hard to wrong there.
Riding in the car...
Shopping at Costco...
At the tree lot...
Trying to get a group shot...
Tree and stocking...
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Just Some More Eloise
So, it's been a while since I posted anything, so here are a bunch of pictures from the last few months. (I also couldn't find my camera for a while, so I don't really have any holiday pictures.)
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| "I can haz pizza?" |
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| This was at an even that my dad was photographing |
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| After the event, we went to dinner |
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| The people behind us said, "Aw, what a cute little boy." |
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| Eloise loves the piano |
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| Here she is sleeping while we finished cleaning our apartment when we moved |
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| These are from yesterday, when I was excited that I had found my camera again. |
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